Latest photos from Rocky Mountain National Park

This morning in Rocky Mountain National Park was extraordinary. The snow storm that came through yesterday broke in the night, but without the normal high winds following it. All morning it has looked like a winter wonderland. I spent hours outside today with my camera enjoying the best winter views of the year.

This view shows Longs Peak over a snowy Moraine Park.

During the night Estes Park received about 5 or 6 inches of snow and up at tree line on Flattop Mountain where this photo was taken, there was a foot of snow. It is still snowing hard both up on the mountain and here in Estes Park. It makes for some great skiing, but even more importantly it helps bring a little moisture back to the mountains after all we've lost these last weeks. Let's hope there is still more snow to come before summer arrives.

This morning Ypsilon Mountain looked very dramatic with a fresh blanket of snow and storm clouds behind it. Spring is such a dynamic time of year up here in Rocky Mountain National Park.

We awoke to a little fresh snow and fog, making for a stunning spring morning. Mount Meeker and Longs Peak briefly appeared through the clouds, but they were swallowed up again just seconds after I made this photo. These spring snows are gorgeous, but they are also very important, providing much needed moisture. Often, just a day or two after a spring snow, flowers and other plants appear bringing life back to Rocky Mountain National Park following a long winter.

The elk here in Rocky Mountain National Park are in the process of losing their antllers. I made this photograph this morning and as you can see, several of these bulls have lost theirs already. If you look closely, you may see that new ones are quickly beginning to grow. Over the next weeks they will become quite large and covered in beautiful smooth velvet.

This morning felt particularly chilly. It was 18F at Sprague Lake, but for some reason it felt a lot colder. As you can see, the lake has been melting and freezing, so do not try to walk on any of the lower lakes in the park as that ice is very thin. This morning we were treated to some nice light in the east. It was gentle and didn't last too long, but it was gorgeous all the same.

This morning I hiked up to Fern Lake for sunrise. There wasn't much of a sunrise to be seen as there were lots of clouds and it was snowing and blowing. Just a little light broke through onto the surrounding peaks and the Little Matterhorn seemed almost ghostly through the falling snow.

I skied across Trail Ridge Road all the way from Hidden Valley to the Colorado River Trailhead today. It was a 20 mile adventure on one of the most beautiful days we've had so far this year. I made a video of othe entire journey which you can find on my YouTube Channel.

It's still cold and wintry in Rocky Mountain National Park. This morning, I watched the sunrise at The Loch, a stunning mountain lake nestled just under three miles up the trail from the Glacier Gorge parking area on Bear Lake Road. The hike up was peaceful, but at the lake, the wind was howling. Despite the biting gusts, the mountains glowed as the sun crested the horizon, painting a breathtaking winter scene to take in.

This morning I was up on the north side of Flattop Mountain. The wind was howling and the snow was blowing. The temperatures up there was pretty chilly as well, but despite that, there was a beauty to it. In these conditions the world becomes simple and graphic as objects fade in and out of the whiteness.

It has been quite warm and lot of snow has melted over the last couple of weeks. As a result of this, most of the snow in the meadows is gone. If you get down on your hands and knees you may even see some brave bits of new grass emerging. However, there is still a lot of winter to come over the next two months. It looks like the next snowstorm is supposed to arrive on Thursday. We are now entering the period that is often the snowiest of the entire year.

We had a very chilly start to the day this morning. It was about 7F when I made this photo along highway 7, just south of Estes Park. I've always loved this old cabin with Longs Peak as its background, especially when there is a bit of fresh snow like we had today.

This morning I enjoyed sunrise up at Lake Haiyaha in Rocky Mountain National Park. It's always so wonderful to start the day out in the beauty of our world. It helps set everything in perspective and calms my often busy and anxious mind.

Be aware that the trail from Dream Lake to Lake Haiyaha is prone to avalanches. That route should only be taken when the avalanche danger is low. Also, be aware that it requires walking on a very narrow and sometimes icy trail with steep drops. This trail is best hiked in the summer and autumn.

This morning we awoke to a couple inches of fresh snow in Rocky Mountain National Park and no wind. It was calm and yet not bitterly cold. It was a perfect winter morning, so I headed over to the Endovalley to walk in the woods and see what I could see. I found myself captivated by the aspen trees with the orange willows behind them.

The jagged spires of Flattop Mountain stand in stark contrast with its name. Lit by the morning sun, they tower high above the snow filled basin of Emerald Lake on a gorgeous late-January morning.

Following a snowstorm the world was coated in a thick white coat that made everything look so fresh and new. As the clouds began to break, a bit of sunshine and blue sky could be seen bringing color and life to this chilly winter scene.

Be sure to click on these thumbnails to see them more fully with all of their detail.

Winter is looking very pretty up at Dream Lake with quite a bit of recent snow and beautiful textures in the ice. I spent about four hours up there today photographing beautiful patterns in the ice with a few friends. I hope you can get up there to enjoy the winter beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Several inches of fresh powder fell during the morning and there was not a breath of wind, so I decided to head out for my first outing on skis this season. I skied up Flattop Mountain to near the Emerald Lake Overlook and made this photo as the clouds were breaking around Hallett Peak. It was an absolutely delightful afternoon.

Nearly two feet of fresh snow fell during the night, making the hike up to Dream Lake more challenging than usual. As I stood in the deep snow on Dream Lake the wind howled creating nearly white-out conditions. This created a painterly feel to the scene before me as I photographed these limber pines in their harsh winter environment.

Happy New Year! Today was a wonderful start to this year. At 5am we had the aurora borealis shining out to the north over the park with deep reds. Then for sunrise I headed up to Sprague Lake where the wind was howling. The blowing snow just added so much great atmoshphere to the scene as the snow swirled around the mountains and down across the mostly frozen lake.

I climbed up Twin Sisters Peaks to film a new video, which I'll release next week. The conditions were perfect, with warm sunshine and very little wind. I made this photo just above tree line, looking back towards the Mummy Range. The mountains you can see here are: Chapin, Chiquita, Ypsilon, Fairchild, Hagues, and Mummy. It was the perfect mid-December day.

On this morning there was a storm moving in from the west while an opening in the clouds remained on the eastern horizon, allowing the sun to shine through below the storm clouds. In this photo Twin Sisters Peaks can be seen as snow falls all around it.

I always love looking at the ice on the lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park. Sometimes it's as if I'm looking into deep space with all the bubbles caught in the ice and in other locations there are unusual cracks that create this artful look. This week I make a couple of trips up to Dream Lake to photograph the ice. I can get lost doing this for hours.

A lone aspen tree bathes in the sunlight while the hill behind it is still in deep shade. I made this photograph from the lower end of Old Fall River Road looking across to the south.

We had a very pink sunrise at Bear Lake. Due to clouds being illuminated in the east, there was a strong pinkish purple cast to everything. The lake has now completely frozen over, but there are some areas around the edge that have frozen only recently and so don't have any snow on them, making them look like open water. It was so still and quiet this morning.

Despite being late in October, there is still a little bit of autumn color left in a few spots, such as along the Endovalley just west of the Alluvial Fan.

Clouds wrapped themselves around Otis Peak, Hallet Peak, and Flattop Mountain above Sprague Lake on a late October morning.

Overnight a few inches of snow fell on the high peaks and tundra of Rocky Mountain National Park. It probably won't be long before Trail Ridge Road closes for the season.

The high peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park stand proudly among the clouds. Here, in this rarefied air, they are dressed in fresh snow and the regal light of the setting sun. These ancient ones are the first to greet the dawn and the last to bid farewell to the day, as they silently keep watch over the world far below. You can see a video from this adventure here:

Autumn color has arrived here in Rocky Mountain National Park. We're now enjoying the beauty of golden aspen leaves at an elevation of about 9,500'. Slowly these colors will make their way downward over the next weeks while elk bugle and visitors stand in awe.

As the sun rose on the alpine tundra, the rock wall of Ptarmigan Point caught its first rays. As you can see, there is still some nice color up at 12,000' on top of the mountains. This is one of my favorite times of year to be in the tundra. Next week I'll release the video of this hike which takes you all the way from Bear Lake to Grand Lake.

The rain and lightning headed off to the east as the skies in the west began to open, allowing the day's last light to illuminate this small tarn at tree line. In just another few minutes the light would fade ending another wonderful day in Rocky Mountain National Park.

This morning the clouds in the east put on a show at sunrise. In this view you are looking at The Twin Owls formation in Lumpy Ridge as seen from the Black Canyon Trail.

In this scene the light dances across the autumnal landscape of the Cache la Poudre Valley. In the nearby woods two bull elk were bugling nonstop for a couple of hours as I enjoyed this peaceful part of Rocky Mountain National Park.

I hiked up to this beautiful area of Rocky Mountain National Park to summit a mountain I hadn't been to the top of before. The autumn colors were out in the tundra and it was simply idyllic being up at these gorgeous mountain lakes.

As the sun rose, it illuminated the falling rain over Specimen Mountain. As you can see, the tundra is slowly turning brown, but if you look closely you'll still see lots of wonderful color. It's a great time to be up in the tundra before winter arrives in just a few weeks.